I still live in HK, and fly mostly CX, but credit all my flights to AA. I do a fair bit of travel to the US and fly domestically, so it makes sense for me. I assume it would make sense for you too if you are flying enough to get to DM. I dont fly enough long hauls to reach DM on CX but am easily able to reach Exec Plat on AA (OWE). Once in the US, there are a number of ways to get easy AA loyalty points (credit cards, e-shopping through their portal, dining, car rentals, etc) so I find making OWE attainable on AA but less so on CX. AA does not have a spending requirement anymore - its simply a combination of loyalty points. The domestic upgrades are worth it for me, and I have found AA to be more generous with the redeemable miles awarded on most tickets. My wife is CX Gold and she receives far less miles for the same flights (even on CX!). On the lounge portion, yes having CX gold and above gives you free lounge access, but AA lounges 1. arent great and 2. can be bought for $600 per year if its really important to you. The Citi credit card gives you plus up to 10 authorized users full AA lounge access. You still get access when flying non-AA flights internationally even without membership at Exec Plat. I personally value OWE for the access to F lounges at HKG, but YMMV.